Sounds crazy, that's for sure but for some reason, I guess this guy meant it seriously..not just jokin...and his stupid name was crazier than the death threat!!

yes when I said crazy I didn't mean to say whoever it was wasn't serious though that doesn't necessarily mean they'd ever intend to carry it out. None of us would wish that on him it goes without saying.

The tennis elite have been keeping an eye on Andy Murray’s progress in Tokyo, and so far he has answered every question.

The US Open champion moved through to the semi-finals in Japan on Friday with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Stanislas Wawrinka that featured a couple of moody moments, but plenty of commanding play.

Ranked No 16 in the world, Wawrinka is a challenging opponent, a gifted player with one of the world’s snazziest backhands and lovely hands at the net. In any other era than that of Roger Federer, he would be the toast of Switzerland.

As it is, he has a reputation for ambushing the big guns. Few players can claim to have beaten Murray four times, as Wawrinka could before yesterday’s match.

But this is a different Murray to the one who lost to Wawrinka in the third round of the 2010 US Open. This is a man who has finally ticked off the last empty box on his glowing CV. Now the rest of the locker-room are waiting to see whether that breakthrough in New York will galvanise him.

Murray has already proved himself to be the form horse on the men’s tour, but can he go up a level? Can the constant contender become the grand fromage?

The next couple of months will provide an interesting insight into Murray’s mindset. Earlier this week, he suggested to an interviewer that he might be able to take a more rounded view of the tennis calendar now that he is not worrying about that first grand slam title any more.

“I was so, I don’t want to say ‘obsessed’, with winning a grand slam, but it was so important to me,” he said. “Sometimes during the year in certain matches I haven’t done myself justice. I felt after the US Open I needed to reset some goals. I was always focusing on the next grand slam rather than every tournament and every match I played.

“Now I feel like I can hopefully concentrate better, take more responsibility for my performances in every tournament throughout the year.”

Against Wawrinka pm Friday, there was evidence of a more positive approach, particularly when it came to rushing the net.

In the past, Murray has often been allergic to moving forward. On those odd occasions when he did so, and was beaten by a pass or lob, he almost seemed to take it personally.

But in this era of five-hour finals and physical grind, he must know that there is great virtue in shortening the points. Yesterday he was quicker than usual to come in for a put-away volley.

When Murray broke in the first game of the match, outflanking Wawrinka with a couple of withering passing shots, it looked as if he might be on for his third straight-sets win of the week.

This time, though, he was a little casual in the second set, and took his frustration out in an attack on his racket that earned him a code violation warning.

Still, he regained the initiative in the decider with the help of a fortunate net-cord when he held break point on the Wawrinka serve. One of many perfectly pitched forehands arrived on match point to complete his win.

“It was very, very tough with a lot of close games,” Murray said. He was due to face Milos Raonic, of Canada, the fastest-emerging talent in the men’s game overnight.

"It was a great experience to go out today and explore the culture of Tokyo. Getting a lesson with real Samurai swords and the rickshaw ride was a fun opportunity, and I'm excited to try to extend my stay in Tokyo tomorrow.”—ATP No. 15 Milos Raonic

Hmmm. Having heard that taxi cabs in Tokyo are extremely expensive and public transportation often overburdened during rush hour, I’m not surprised to learn that rickshaws are such an important part of Tokyo culture. As for those lessons using the big sticker, you know what they say about Samurai swords in Tokyo (I’m translating for those of you who don’t parlez-vous): Don’t leave home without it!

I understand that at the upcoming Vienna tournament, Raonic will be taught to yodel, then the following week in Valencia he’ll be schooled in the art of attacking a windmill on horseback, bearing a lance. In Paris, the organizers plan to take him hunting for a hunchback in the Notre Dame cathedral’s bell tower, and if he’s good enough to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals, he’ll get a chance to take a tour of London in a red double-decker bus!

Second favourite says that there has been too much British success to 'single out one person'

Andy Murray is already second favourite to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award but at this rate Bradley Wiggins must be wondering whether the Scot might catch him in a sprint finish. The US Open champion, who is the first British man to win a Grand Slam singles title for 76 years, extended his winning run to 10 matches here yesterday when he beat Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Japan Open.

Murray, nevertheless, would like the BBC to break with tradition at their end-of-year extravaganza. "Personally I don't think this year there should be a winner of the Sports Personality of the Year," Murray said after securing a meeting with Canada's Milos Raonic in today's semi-finals. "I think it should be a celebration of the year as a whole and of what we, as a nation, have achieved, rather than singling one person out and saying he or she has had the best year.

"There are so many things that go into all the different sports. Somebody like Rory McIlroy has had an incredible year, but people aren't really talking about him as a potential winner. It's just because he's not part of an Olympic sport. I think it would be a cool way to do it, but they won't. It's so hard to decide because so many things have happened this year. I can't see us having another year like this for a while."

Asked what had given him the most enjoyment in 2012 as a spectator, Murray chose the evening in the Olympic Stadium when Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah all won gold in the space of just 42 minutes. "There were certain things I missed through travelling and not being able to watch, but I saw that evening and it was really cool," he said.

If Murray does win the BBC award, he is unlikely to pick it up in person. The world No 4 spends most of December training in Miami and will be there again this year to work with his coach, Ivan Lendl.

"For me, that time of the year and those days of training are so important," Murray said.

"It has worked so well for me in the past and I do not think going back and forth for three or four days and not having Ivan around is wise. It may not make a difference, but sometimes tennis matches come down to the smallest of differences.

"Say I was in the semi or the final of the Australian Open and I got tired at 5-5 in the fifth set or whatever, I may look back on it. I need to do the right thing for my tennis. I'm not saying I'm definitely not going to go, but I've spoken to my team and I haven't planned on coming back."

Murray also revealed that he does not expect to play next year in Dubai or Rotterdam following the Australian Open. He usually plays in one of the tournaments before the Indian Wells Masters in March, but next year he plans to spend that period training again in Miami, although he might enter the nearby Delray Beach event at the end of February.

"After Australia, obviously Indian Wells and Miami are important tournaments," Murray said. "Last year I went over to train in Miami and then I went back to Dubai. I did well in Dubai and then flew back over to Miami. That maybe wasn't perfect for Indian Wells [where Murray lost his first match], so I think I'm probably going to spend more time in Miami and not do so much travelling at the start of the year."

Wawrinka gave Murray his toughest test of the week and took advantage of a dip in the world No 4's form midway through the second set. Murray, nevertheless, quickly took control of the decider to win after just over two hours.

A match played in the middle of another steamy day in the Ariake Colosseum saw both men receive code violations after smashing their rackets in frustration. Murray was on court again some 90 minutes later to play doubles with his brother, Jamie, but they were beaten 6-4, 3-6, 10-2 by the top seeds, Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek.

In the other singles semi-final, Kei Nishikori will take on Marcos Baghdatis. Nishikori, the best player in Japan's history, delighted his home crowd with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Tomas Berdych, the No 2 seed.

All the top players, with the exception of the injured Rafael Nadal, will compete next week at the Shanghai Masters, which will increase its security measures after it was revealed yesterday that a death threat had been made against Roger Federer.

The threat was made on a fan website by "Blue Cat Polytheism Founder 07". The tournament said that it took all such issues seriously and "has security in place for our players and every precaution is taken".

absolutely crazy and the last thing we want is for him to become saint fed the martyr as well as the goat

The thing is that these nutters don't normally carry out their threats. If they did have assassination in mind they wouldn't publicise the fact and warn their intended victim and alert the security people. Must be a bit scary though for anyone.

"It was a great experience to go out today and explore the culture of Tokyo. Getting a lesson with real Samurai swords and the rickshaw ride was a fun opportunity, and I'm excited to try to extend my stay in Tokyo tomorrow.”—ATP No. 15 Milos Raonic

Hmmm. Having heard that taxi cabs in Tokyo are extremely expensive and public transportation often overburdened during rush hour, I’m not surprised to learn that rickshaws are such an important part of Tokyo culture. As for those lessons using the big sticker, you know what they say about Samurai swords in Tokyo (I’m translating for those of you who don’t parlez-vous): Don’t leave home without it!

I understand that at the upcoming Vienna tournament, Raonic will be taught to yodel, then the following week in Valencia he’ll be schooled in the art of attacking a windmill on horseback, bearing a lance. In Paris, the organizers plan to take him hunting for a hunchback in the Notre Dame cathedral’s bell tower, and if he’s good enough to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals, he’ll get a chance to take a tour of London in a red double-decker bus!